Lithuania imposes draconian lockdown, restricts movement as COVID-19 cases soar

By bne IntelliNews December 13, 2020

The new centre-right Lithuanian government imposed a nationwide lockdown, which constrains people's movement and interactions between households, on December 13.

Lithuania’s health authorities registered 3,303 new cases and 27 deaths of COVID-19 on December 12 and 2,849 cases and 24 deaths on December 13. The total number of infections has risen to 93,101. As of December 13, some 52,994 people are still ill and 38,893 have recovered.

As of the coming Wednesday, December 16, the following measures go in effect: people are forbidden to leave the territory of their municipality, unless attending a funeral, for work purposes, healthcare, or when their workplace or property is located in another municipality. People will also be able to leave their municipality to take care of the sick or other people in need. Non-essential travel within a municipality is forbidden. 

People are allowed to leave their homes to go for shopping, to work, to attend a funeral, or to seek healthcare. 

Contacts between more than one household are forbidden. Events involving more than one household are also banned. People from the same household are allowed to go for walks in open spaces. 

All non-food shops will have to close or move trading online; veterinary and food shops, pharmacies, optical and orthopedic shops will remain open. Food markets will also be allowed to stay open. 

All classes, including primary and pre-school education, will have to move online.

The restrictions on movement will last until January 3. All other measures are in place until January 31.

Related Articles

Former Latvian PNB Bank depositors face August deadline

Former depositors of now insolvent Latvia’s AS PNB Banka who have yet to resolve any legal claims have been reminded of a looming deadline by the regulator, the Latvian central bank, Latvijas Banka ... more

Baltic banks must be clearer on their sustainability goals – only five out of 24 Baltic banks commit to net-zero

Only five out of 24 Baltic banks commit to net-zero, and the rest need to step up, argue Vaida Arlauskaitė and Monika Aleksiejute-Jonusauskiene of the consultancy Viridis Sustainability, LRT.lt, the ... more

SEB Estonia finishes 2023 by doubling profits to €232mn

SEB Pank, Estonia's second largest commercial bank, finished 2023 with a profit of €231.7mn, similarly to Swedbank which more than doubled its profits against last year from €115.9mn, ERR.ee, the ... more

Dismiss